Pleated, pierced and crimped together just so, here comes the planet’s newest diva: Miss Illy, famed Barneys New York creative director Simon Doonan’s singular vision in illy espresso tins and foil, debuted November 16 in the Barneys New York holiday windows. Fresh and full-bodied as the primo Arabica she once so lovingly nurtured (her parts all fashionably recycled), Ms. Illy is the can’t-miss vixen centerpiece of the iconic retailer’s Madison Avenue flagship windows, themed “Have a Foodie Holiday” for 2010.

You get The Great Coffee Debate: a first-of-its-kind, frank, often surprising conversation about premium coffee’s present and future, held October 28 at The International Culinary Center in New York City, hosted by illycaffè, the premier Italian coffee brand and The International Culinary Center. Debate topics spanned farm to cup: growing and harvesting; purchasing and certification models; roasting and packaging dynamics; preparation methods; coffee at cafes and restaurants; consumer education.

Barneys New York, a luxury specialty retailer, announced its upcoming national holiday campaign «Have a Foodie Holiday,» Barneys’ celebration of foodie culture. Barneys, in partnership with Food Network, Cooking Channel, and illycaffe, will kick off the holiday season with the unveiling of the Madison Avenue flagship’s windows on November 16.

Igor Aronov was named the winner of illy’s international photographic competition, “AuthentiCity— Revealing purity and authenticity in urban life,” which was held in collaboration with the NYC-based School of Visual Arts. He along with four other finalists, Matthew Baum, Caroline Shepard, Giselle Behrens and Carlos Alvarez Montero, took bespoke photo works, exploring the life of Big Apple, to the closing exhibition of the project, arranged during the New York City Wine & Food Festival on October 4–10.

illy, a renowned Italian coffee company, is famous for its art project, has announced the launch of its gallery in Berlin (September 2-25) and Istambul (October 1-24). The brand opened Galleria illy in New York (2005), Milan (2006) and Trieste (2008), and now wants to invite the loyal consumers to its signature exhibition spaces in two more capitals of the world, which have been cultural crossroads for many centuries.

illy extends the illy Art Collection line with two new limited edition designer coffee cans decorated by Tobias Rehberger. Rehberger won the Leone d’Oro at the last Venice Visual Arts Biennial and designed an illy Art Collection cup in 2009. He tries out different expressive instruments inspired by the language of design, architecture and cinema with the “Everything” and “Nothing” coffee cans.